6th Grade
Meet our 6th Grade Team
Julia Ferre, Cynthia Melas, Emily Fields, and Aaron McLean
Our amazing 6th grade teachers at Eagle Ridge each specialize in their certain subjects, as 6th graders rotate much like they will do in Middle School.
Aaron McLean - Math
Aaron McLean loves teaching sixth grade and has done so for the vast majority of his 24 year career. He is our 6th grade math teacher and enjoys identifying students’ individual needs as he teaches. It is an extremely important year academically and socially for kids as they transition to middle school and the rigors of secondary school. He has taught in JeffCo, Cherry Creek, and many years in Douglas County, in both departmentalized and self-contained settings. The challenge of helping kids realize their potential in mathematics is very appealing to him. He has a wonderful wife of 24 years, a 19 year old boy and 16 year old girl. Most of his off time can find him on adventures with his family, fly-fishing the Rockies, and golfing with friends.
Emily Fields - Literacy
Emily Fields is in her second year Eagle Ridge Elementary this year, but not a stranger to our feeder area community. She was a Language Arts teacher at Cresthill Middle School for 17 years! This year marks Ms. Fields 26th year of teaching. She has taught high school, middle school and has tutored grades 4 and up, including college students. With a vast background in teaching diverse learners, Ms. Fields' strongest assets are connecting with students and families and meeting students where they are. She creates individualized educational services for each student whether it is in the classroom or during a one-on-one tutoring session. Emily was born and raised outside of Detroit, Michigan, but has been in Denver for over half her life. She spends time playing outside with her two sons (who both attend THE Highlands Ranch High School) and her dog, and loves the mountains, health and fitness, cooking, reading, listening to podcasts and seeing live music.
JULIA FERRE - literacy
While this is my first year on Eagle Ridge’s 6th grade team, I have been a teacher at neighborhood or charter schools within Douglas County since 2016. Through time in 5th grade and 8th grade classrooms I have had the unique opportunity to share my talents from past careers with students for a career-focused preparatory experience that readies them for their next educational venture. I have a Master of Arts in Education with a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Endorsement. I am a former Boettcher Teacher Resident and was a finalist for Colorado Teacher of the Year in 2022. My past jobs in television news, corporate communications, telephony, and website design prepared me well for this – my dream job. I share these career experiences with students and make job-skills connections for all learning targets in my classroom. I’m also a mom to two young men, who both attended Eagle Ridge Elementary and ultimately graduated from Highlands Ranch High School.
While I try to incorporate many methods of instructional design and accommodate all learning styles in my classroom, there are some techniques that come easier to me than others. When people I work with are asked to describe my working style they use words like, LOGICAL, DATA-INFORMED, RATIONAL, FOCUSED ON THE BIG PICTURE, VISUAL, and INTENTIONAL. If you ask me, I might say, “I really like statistics and a quiet room where I can research.”
Over time your students will find out I moved seven times before 7th grade! I have lived in big cities, small towns, desert heat, and brisk mountain air. I love Colorado the most. I consider myself a maker and enjoy a lazy CRAFTernoon. On my days away from the classroom you can find me sipping coffee on my front porch while I spy on the hummingbirds and try to read before the rest of the world wakes up. My money and my youngest son go to The University of Utah and my oldest son travels the west building hyperscale data centers for a technology integrator. If you are adept at catching teachers in the wild you might spot me at the Botanical Gardens or a golf course. We are a busy family with a lot of interests.
Cynthia Melas - Science and Social Studies
I am Cynthia Melas and I'm thrilled to be your Social Studies and Science teacher this year at Eagle Ridge Elementary!!
A little about myself: I was born and raised in Chicago. After graduating Albion College, Michigan, with a BA in European History and Psychology, and a secondary education certificate, I taught in the Chicagoland suburbs for 8 years in 6th and 8th grade Social Studies and English. Declining enrollment caused school closures which meant I had to switch careers. Enter Xerox Corporation where I worked in Chicago and Rochester in sales, training and consulting. After retiring, I went back to substitute at my former high school district and worked in philanthropy for a few years.
In 2018, I made the decision to move to Colorado, to join my niece and her family, who had moved to Highlands Ranch, in 2016. Once Covid eased up, I transitioned my teaching certifications to Colorado and joined the DCSD family, teaching 6th grade Social Studies and Science.
The 6th grade Social Studies and Science curriculum is really exciting and I can’t wait to travel the Western Hemisphere with you as we learn about indigenous peoples and current day cultures, lifestyles, governments, etc. In Science, we will be exploring atoms, protons and neutrons, the periodic table, the Colorado environment, as part of Outdoor Ed, and the changing ocean ecosystem, whales, etc.
There will be lots of teamwork opportunities as we continue to develop the Leader in Me Program based on Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits Program, which I have been trained on by Stephen Covey. I look forward to sharing my teaching and professional experiences with all you ERE Eagles, while constantly mentoring kindness, acceptance, responsibility and respect. I love being around the vitality and enthusiasm of 6th graders and watching you reach you “AH HA'' moments.
In my free time, I spend lots of time with my four great nieces and nephews: Jack, a freshman Mt. Vista; Amelia, 7th grade Mt. Ridge; Josie, 4th and Crosby, 2nd grade at Sand Creek Elementary, where my niece Monica is an EA and where I first started teaching 6th grade in DCSD. I love going to lots of the kiddos baseball games, dance recitals, playing pickleball, gardening and reading. We have one Corgi, Nellie, and a rescue, Decker, who are always loads of fun especially when their Corgi cousins come to visit, Woody, from Chicago and Pippin, from San Francisco!!
